Ancient Recipes Come to Life for Vegas' Five-Star Chinese New Year

LAS VEGAS ( TheStreet) -- Your chance for a once-in-a-lifetime traditional celebration of Chinese New Year is arriving in the United States -- where else but in a city known for its excess, Las Vegas.

For the second time ever, the world-renowned Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is bringing its impeccable service and cuisine to the United States to celebrate the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. There's no better place for this event than at the Tuscany Kitchen in the Bellagio, and TravelsinTaste has all the details:

Similar to Camp David, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is an exclusive retreat for Chinese royalty, visiting foreign dignitaries and provincial government officials; the venue is considered to be a standard for the highest level of service. The estate was built in 1959 on land rich in ancient Chinese history to house foreign dignitaries invited to the People's Republic of China's 10th anniversary. The 420,000-square-meter compound was sited on the royal fishing terrace used during the Jin Dynasty, a favorite fishing spot of Emperor Zhangzong. It includes multiple villas, meticulously cared-for gardens, and 51,000-square-meters of lake. Water meanders through the villas, pavilions, woods and bridges, uniting the ancient imperial dwelling place with the new villas.

The compound has hosted 1,220 heads of state and government leaders including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin among others. Now the venue is a five-star hotel.

The exquisite Diaoyutai experience doesn't end with its beauty, standards and impeccable service. There's also its cuisine, led by China's own celebrity chef, Hao Baoli. His background includes heading teams on festivals across the world -- in the U.S., France, Switzerland, Brazil, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong -- in addition to running banquets for generations of Chinese leaders and hundreds of heads of states. His internationally renowned cuisine is not only delicious, but healthy, as his unique dishes are low in sugar, salt and fat. His specialty? He brings to life and modernizes ancient menus from the library of the Forbidden City that were served to emperors of the Ming, Quing and Jin dynasties.

It's under his guidance that the Tuscany Kitchen will be transformed down to the most particular detail -- including the tableware, which will be shipped from Beijing to the Bellagio for the occasion.

Now you too can indulge in the cuisine normally reserved for royalty, presidents and prime ministers. For three days Baoli and his team will be serving multi-course meals including rare and delicious delicacies cooked to perfection: deep fried ice fish, whole abalone with oyster sauce, Chinese honey locust bean with medlar and peach gum, broiled lobster claw with seafood soup and Diaoyutai's Dragon Bearded Noodle ritual; extraordinary fruit carvings round out the menu. To wash it all down, there will be champagne and cognac to start and wine selections throughout the meal. Dressed in traditional Chinese attire, the Diaoyutai culinary team will be on hand to satisfy your every culinary desire.